Day #2
Feyenoord
On our second day in Holland we visited Feyenoord. This is one of the top Dutch Clubs in Holland. They have produced many players including Dutch International Robin Van Persie.
We arrived to Feyenoord early in the morning so that we could catch the First Team Training. We watched the First Team train with the Stadium in the background and it was very cool to see world class players train 10 yards from us. One player in particular who trained that day was Ryo Miyaichi. He is currently on loan from Arsenal and he was very impressive. One of the drills we observed was a tight 5v3 possesion drill and Ryo had very quick feet. Toward the end of training, he was hitting free kicks with perfection.
Feyenoord currently sits 12th in the Eredivisie. PSV, who we also visited on this trip, sits top of the table with 61 points.
After watching the First Team Training, we went and had lunch in the stadium cafe. At lunch, we met up with Kipp Keller and Kip Thompson who were in England before they arrived in Holland. They saw Wayne Rooney's masterclass bicycle kick at Old Trafford. I was very jealous that they were in the stadium to see that goal.
After lunch, we observed some of the Feyenoord youth teams train. The coolest part of the training was that the players could see the stadium in the background of the training pitch. It was as if they knew that they were training to someday play in the main stadium.
After Feyenoord, we visited RKTVC Tiel which is an amateur club in Holland. The director of this amateur club was Niels Botch. He was a very impressive guy who told us all about their club.
RKTVC Tiel has 560 youth players in their program which is 49 teams with 55 coaches (18 pro coaches). The club is carried by its volunteers and the goal is to have fun and to have good competition.
The club has implemented a program which tracks every player. It helps rate stamina, physique, discipline, technique, speed of passing and receiving, ball possession, and 1v1 duals. The players receive evaluations 2x per year. Different coaches will track and evaluate the players.
It was interesting to note that club puts a huge emphasis on discipline. Everyone including coaches, players, and volunteers are required to be clean and neat. This includes being polite, listening, and addressing each other with respect.
It was also interesting to note that the club bar helps fund the club in many different aspects.
As with every other club in Holland, RKTVC Tiel implements a 4-3-3 system of play.
I have included some pictures of our second day in Holland.
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| Group at Feyenoord |
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| Gody in front of Feyenoord Stadium |
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| Group at RKTVC Tiel |
